It's been tough getting back into a routine following Fall Break. All I want to do nowadays is work on finding a job -- collecting business cards, making new connections, and speaking with alumni and their friends about the state of journalism. Almost none of them have good news. A typical response is, "Isn't there anything else you'd be interested in doing?" But as much as they bemoan the state of journalism, they all seem happy that I want to be a reporter.

 

I discussed my career goals several times last night, at a reception following the Founders Day convocation that morning. The reception honored the six alumni who were awarded Odyssey Medals at the convocation in recognition of their professional success in one of the six Odyssey categories: artistic creativity, global awareness, professional and leadership development, research, service to the world, and special projects. My job at the reception was to stand near the front door of the Clinton Presidential Library yesterday evening, taking coats and handing out nametags to the attendees. My own nametag, which read "Katie Rice '10", prompted much discussion of my future plans.

 

I had the chance to speak briefly with alumnus Doug Blackmon '86, a Wall Street Journal bureau chief whose recent book Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II received a Pulitzer Prize. He received the Odyssey Medal for Global Awareness. I also spoke with several other alumni, one of whom advised me that the core skill required in journalism -- the ability to see and interpret a situation, and explain it to someone else -- would be valuable in many different fields.

 

OK, gotta run. I'm meeting with the internship coordiantor, Trista Greider, to discuss my résumé.